Metro receives $1.2M federal grant to repair, prevent storm damage

Metro will receive a $1.2 million federal grant to help the agency make repairs caused by damage from storms and flooding, as well as to prevent falling rock damage, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced Monday.

The department’s Federal Transit Administration announced $102.3 million in funding to 17 transit agencies, cities and planning councils in eight states and territories to help them recover from recent disasters that occurred in 2017 and between 2020 and 2022. The funding, through FTA’s Public Transportation Emergency Relief Program, will help recipients repair damaged equipment and facilities, and recoup costs for evacuation and rescue operations.

“As climate change accelerates, we are seeing floods, hurricanes and wildfires that used to be once-in-a-century events coming every few months and causing greater damage to our lives, communities and infrastructure,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.

FTA’s Emergency Relief Program provides assistance to public transit operators in the aftermath of a declared emergency or major disaster. The program helps states and public transportation systems:

• pay for repairing and replacing equipment and facilities that have suffered serious damage as a result of an emergency;

• cover the costs of evacuation, rescue operations and temporary public transportation service; and

• reestablish, expand or relocate service before, during or after an emergency.

“Americans cannot stop their lives because a disaster damages their transit systems,” FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez said in a statement. “We know it is critical to fund recovery efforts for these systems, so they can keep taking Americans to work, to school, to doctors’ appointments and for all the other important journeys that transit provides.”

FTA will continue to accept applicants from impacted transit agencies and communities for another 90 days.

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